A Beautiful Mess
by ExLibris3
Summary: A car accident puts Jenny in a coma. What happens when she wakes up?
1. Prologue

_**A Beautiful Mess**_

_**Summary: A car accident puts Jenny in a coma. **__**What happens when she wakes up?**_

_**A/N: Inspired slightly by the Hiatus episodes, but has no relation to the episodes. Set around the middle of season three. Possible Jibbs. I will update as soon as possible, I promise! Please send me a review! Thank you!**_

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_**Prologue**_

Jenny entered the elevator in the NCIS building and hit the button with force. She was on her way home, and she was furious. Once again, she had been in a nasty fight with Gibbs. This had involved the two of them standing on either side of her desk, yelling at each other. As the elevator began its decent, Jenny took a deep breath in order to try and calm herself, it didn't work, she was still really pissed off at him. Well, she was sure they'd be okay tomorrow, at least okay enough to stand being in the same room together. She also knew from experience that if they just got some time to calm down from the heat of the argument, they could reach a silent agreement to never mention the fight again.

Jenny exited the elevator and the NCIS building. Still wrapped up in her previous conversation with Gibbs, she'd only cast one glance at the road before crossing it. That mistake cost her dearly. She only felt the first seconds when the car hit her, the excruciating pain roaring through her body, and then she surrendered into darkness.

The sound of shrieking tires cut through the air, but the car did not lose much of its speed as it appeared determined to leave the awful scene it had caused behind.

Left behind on the road lay the redheaded woman, unconscious and broken. Her hair was spread on the ground; a light wind blew it across her still face.

Then a scream, a male voice shouted out in panic, shouted for someone to call the ambulance…

_**To be continued…**_


	2. Chapter 1

_**A Beautiful Mess**_

_**Chapter 1**_

_**A/N: Oh my god, thank you so much for all the great reviews on the prologue! It means so much to me. I hope this chapter will please you too! I will update as soon as I can. Please review!! Thanks, Emma!**_

Gibbs was looking out through the window, it was raining outside and the sky was so grey it looked like it was never going to stop. He held a cup of disgusting coffee in his hand, the coffee at hospitals rarely tasted good, but he needed a distraction. He glanced back to the redheaded woman in the bed, she lay so still, her eyes were closed and her hands rested peacefully on the sheet. Her face was all bruised and her lip swollen, her leg and arm were fractured and in casts, bandages were wrapped around her head where her forehead had hit the windshield of the car. He'd just never thought he'd see her like this, so vulnerable, so broken. This was just not the Jenny he knew. The strong, independent woman, who never surrendered. He remembered once when they had worked together in the Czech Republic and she'd been shot in the thigh, she'd handled it with strength, and he had admired her for it.

Now she was in a coma after having been hit by a car, apparently a hit-and-run driver. He had been there, he'd seen it all happening. He must have exited the NCIS building only seconds after her, because when he got out, he had glanced up to see a car coming in full speed toward her, it hadn't slow down. He hadn't had a chance to warn her, it all happened so fast. He'd watched in horror how her body had rolled over the hood, her head hitting the windshield and when she had fallen to the ground so still, so lifeless. Panic had gripped at him; the fear tearing at his heart, the shock had caused him to stand frozen for several seconds, just staring at her lying there. Then it had been like a shock awakening, he'd realized this was for real, and he'd shouted out that someone needed to call an ambulance while he had ran across the street to where she lay. He'd found a pulse, but he could not know for how long she'd survive if she didn't get medical aid soon.

He'd gone with her in the ambulance, anxiously watching the paramedics work on her injuries. He'd been told she was lucky, she was going to survive.

Now as he turned his gaze back out through the window, a thought returned to him that had been haunting him since the accident had occurred. Why hadn't she looked more carefully before she crossed the road? His mind once again travelled back to yesterday, but not to the accident, but to the fight they had had just before. He remembered clearly exactly how furious she'd been, furious enough to distract her from her surroundings, making her less observant of what was happening around her. He was positive this was all his fault, if he hadn't argued with her, if he had stopped himself from saying those very unnecessary words, if he just had resisted making her angry… then maybe she wouldn't be lying here, injured, and he would not be standing here, feeling guilty. Thank God she would be alright.

Gibbs stepped away from the window and instead walked to stand beside her. Clutching the coffee cup in his hand, he glanced down at her messed up features. She looked like hell, he thought. The bruises were all over her face, one of her eyes was swollen and blackened. Still, maybe it was just in his mind because he knew how she looked underneath, but he thought there were moments when her face sort of lit up, and part of her natural beauty shone through the messed up façade. He couldn't help but to wonder what was going on inside her brain, what she was dreaming of.

He suddenly reached out his hand and gently caressed her cheek, so softly it wouldn't hurt her, but he hoped the brief touch would give her some comfort.

Jenny's doctor had told him he should try talking to her, sometimes surrounding comatose patients with familiar voices or even smells could make them wanna wake up. Gibbs had thought he would feel stupid to sit here and talk to someone who probably didn't even know he was here. He wasn't good at talking to someone who wasn't listening, that was more down Ducky's alley. But now as he stood here, looking down at her fragile figure, he thought he might as well give it a shot. He pulled out a chair and sat down next to her bed.

"Hi Jen, it's Gibbs" he began a bit tentatively. He sighed and sipped from his coffee while trying to figure out something to say. "I – I'm sorry if our fight had anything to do with your accident" he had taught her that saying you're sorry was a sign of weakness, but he felt like he owed her an apology. And it felt good to have said it. She had been out for twelve hours now, and he'd been by her side the entire time, whether it was because of guilt, or some other reason he did not know. It was just disturbing to see her like this, but he felt he should be here, especially if it was because of him she lay here.

"Well, you won't have to worry about the agency; Cynthia has brought in a temporary replacement in your stead" he had nothing else to say, but he decided it didn't matter what he said, as long as he talked to her "And – I've put out a BOLO on the car that hit you" he said through gritted teeth as he struggled to control the anger rising inside of him as he thought about just how much he longed to take down the bastard who had down this to her. What made him the most upset about this situation was that he'd just left her there, left her to die.

"Don't worry, Jen" he added a little softer "I will get him, I promise."

Gibbs cell phone rang. Without taking his eyes off Jenny's face, he answered.

"Yeah, Gibbs?"

"Hi boss, how's the Director?" Tony's voice reached his ears, he sounded worried. Gibbs gaze travelled across Jenny's face, lingering on her closed eyes for a few long seconds before he managed to look away from her broken figure.

"Still out" he answered and rose from the chair he'd been sitting in and returned to his previous position by the window. "Tell me we got a hit on the BOLO"

"Yeah, we did. It belongs to a George Williamson, living in Georgetown. If you want, Ziva and I can go pick him up" Tony offered, hoping Gibbs might want to stay at the hospital, worried about just what his boss might do if he got his hands on the person responsible for Jenny's situation.

"Yeah, you two do that" Gibbs agreed, he was tired but still the thought of catching this bastard gave him some sort of kick.

"Really? So, should I tell Ziva to do the interrogation?" Gibbs noticed the obvious relief in Tony's voice.

"No, you won't tell her that. You bring him in, put him in the interrogation room until I get there!" he barked back and slammed him cell shut, ending the conversation. As he turned back toward Jenny, his eyes sparkled with anticipation. He approached her again.

"I told you I'd get him" he said with a slight smile. He emptied his cup of coffee before throwing the cup in the garbage. Just as he bent down to pick up his jacket that lay on another chair, Jenny's nurse came into the room.

"Are you leaving, agent Gibbs?" she asked politely in her Spanish accent as she went over to check up on the redheaded patient.

"Yeah, I'm going to have a little chat with the bastard responsible for putting her in a coma" he answered bitterly. The young woman looked up at him as he spoke, anger filling her dark brown eyes.

"Good, I hope you'll give him what he deserves, he could have killed her" she hissed angrily as she carefully watched Jenny. Gibbs looked up at the nurse, she was latino and very beautiful, her long, dark hair tied up in a pony-tail. Her name was Maria Gonzales.

"I'll do my best" he assured her and she turned her gaze toward him, a smile on her lips.

"Good, I promise to take good care of your girlfriend while you're gone. I assume you'll be back later?"

"No, she's not my girlfriend" he quickly corrected her error. Maria raised her eyebrows and hid a smile.

"My mistake" she apologised and turned back to Jenny.

"But I'll be back" he told her "I'll leave my number on the table, call me in case she wakes up" he threw a piece of paper with his cell phone number written on down onto the table. Then he left the room, casting a glance at Jenny before he disappeared.

Maria smiled at Jenny who was blissfully unaware of what had been going on around her.

"What do you think, my dear? Is he in love with you?" she asked the redheaded woman. Jenny lay as still as she had the past twelve hours. "Oh, I think he is. I can see it in his eyes every time he looks at you"

Gibbs tried to shake Maria's comment out of his head. Jenny, his girlfriend? That observation would have been right six years ago, but not now, definitely not now. But he didn't deny the thought hadn't crossed his mind during the years they'd been apart. He admitted he'd missed her, but for as long as she was Director, they wouldn't work as a couple. They had too many fights; the latest one had even put her in a coma.

He pulled up his car outside the NCIS headquarters, positive that DiNozzo and Ziva would have George Williamson in custody by now. He went in and the moment he entered the bullpen he saw Tony sitting at his desk.

"DiNozzo!" he barked and Tony's head shot up.

"Boss!"

"Where's the bastard?"

"Interrogation 1" Tony replied and Gibbs, carrying a cup of hot coffee, didn't even bother to pass by his desk, but when straight to the hallway where the interrogation rooms were located. Tony and Ziva were right behind him, intending on observing.

George Williamson was a man in his early twenties. Sitting alone in the interrogation room at NCIS had made him shake with fear, he knew why he was here, and he suspected the worst. He'd been in here for twenty minutes, and every single minute had felt like eternity. Convinced the agents were watching him from the observation room, just waiting for him to break down and cry, and frankly he'd been on the verge of losing his self-control, but he'd told himself they were only doing this to punish him for what he had done to that poor redheaded woman. Convinced they would not do anything until he shed a tear and begged for mercy, he almost received a heart-attack when the door to interrogation burst open and a grey-haired man entered the room, sending him a look that sent shivers up his spine.

"George Williamson" Gibbs said and sat down opposite the boy. Though his expression didn't show it, Gibbs was surprised to see the young boy; he'd expected his bastard to be much older.

"Y-yes, s-s-sir" George stammered, there was something about the agents energy that unnerved him.

"I'm special agent Gibbs" he said and showed his badge to the boy, who nodded in fright. "Do you know why you're here?"

"I killed her…" his voice was nothing more than a whisper, but his words seemed to fill the entire room. "I hit her with my car, and she died"

George looked up at Gibbs, tears had begun running down his cheeks "I didn't mean to! I swear it was not intentional!"

"What makes you think she's dead?" Gibbs asked and rose to his feet, walking around the table, the boy turned his head nervously when he passed behind him, then he stopped and leaned his head against the cool glass toward the observation room.

"Well, I – I just assumed…that was why you brought me in, because I k-killed her" he said weakly, looking away from Gibbs.

"Really?" Gibbs replied, anger boiling inside of him as he walked toward the table, placing both his hands on the cool surface of the table, leaning in toward the boy. "You don't think it has anything to do with the fact that you hit her with your car, without as much as stop to see if she was alive before you sped off? That makes you a hit-and-run driver, and you're responsible for what has happened to her" Gibbs spoke in a quiet, but threatening tone of voice. George swallowed nervously.

"I – I didn't see her! I swear she just appeared out of nowhere, I didn't have the time to stop!" he burst out in agony. Nothing this older man could say would make him feel worse that he already felt. He had killed a woman, and he'd gotten in for it.

"And why didn't you stop after you'd hit her?" Gibbs cold voice rang in his ears.

"I – I panicked…" tears continued to run down George's cheeks as he said "I can't believe I killed her!"

"Those fake tears don't affect me" Gibbs smiled as he spoke, from the beginning of this interrogation he'd known George was lying; it was so obvious in his body language.

"I don't fake tears!" he burst out in a feeble attempt to keep up the lie.

Gibbs threw a file down on the table in front of him.

"Your record" he said with disgust as he saw the younger man's expression change, leaving no trace of his previous guilt left. "You have been in for drug possession and, shockingly enough, another hit-and-run accident, one where the victim died"

George had wiped away his tears, and stared up at Gibbs with his best bad-boy stare. Gibbs stared back.

"Just like this time right? She did die right? That stupid bitch, it was her own fault. She didn't even look before she crossed the street –" George wasn't given the chance to finish his sentence. Gibbs grabbed him by his arms and shoved him into the wall. Holding his face only inches from the young man's, he whispered hotly against his skin.

"You saw her coming, you knew she was gonna cross the road, and you didn't slow down. I saw it all happening. You hit her on purpose"

George daringly met Gibbs' gaze, then he spat in his face. Before Gibbs had a chance to do anything, the sound of the door opening caught his attention.

"Boss, I think I should take it from here" Tony's voice filled the room. The seriousness in his tone was picked up by Gibbs, who knew if Tony hadn't interrupted this exact moment, he would have done something so stupid it would have cost him his job.

Reluctantly, Gibbs let go of George and without looking at either him or Tony, he left the room. The last thing he heard before he shut door was Tony ordering him to sit down. Once he was out in the hallway, he leaned against the cool wall, trying to compose himself. He opened his eyes as he realized he had company. Ziva had just emerged from the observation room.

"I think Tony could use some help with this guy" she said before she too disappeared into the interrogation room.

Gibbs wiped George's spit off his face and tried to control the anger that was still roaring through his body. He trusted that Officer David and Agent DiNozzo could handle the guy together, and retreated to the men's room to wash up.

_**To be continued…**_


	3. Chapter 2

_**A **__**Beautiful M**__**ess**_

_**Chapter 2**_

_A/N: Hi! I'm so sorry for the very long delay on this one. I had a plan to where this was going, but I realized it wouldn't work. But last night it hit me, and I found most of this chapter already written, so I finished it, and I promise the next update won't be so long, and this is a pretty short chapter. But you have to consider that I am in school, and these are the last weeks before summer, so I have much school stuff to do. But big thanks to everyone who has reviewed the other chapters, I am really sorry to have kept you all waiting, but I hope you'll still like it! Thanks._

It wasn't until later in the afternoon that Gibbs decided he'd return to the hospital after having spent the last couple of hours in his basement, furiously working on his boat, thinking it might calm him down. It hadn't work so well though, he'd been too upset. All he had achieved was cutting himself. He had soon given up and instead he had swallowed a couple of shots of Bourbon.

When he returned to the hospital that afternoon, Jenny lay just like he had left her that morning. He hadn't been surprised, just exhausted, but he reclaimed his position by her bedside.

The following four nights he spent at the hospital, leaving in the morning for work, returning on his lunch break unless he had an important case, then leaving again for another couple of hours for work. But he'd return every evening.

On the fifth day from the accident, he sat by her bed as usual, the cold November rain scattering against the glass of the window. He stared at her still features, her closed eyelids and the long red hair that framed her face. The doctors and nurses who came to check up on her every once in a while had assumed he was her husband, or boyfriend at least. Again and again he had explained he was just a friend. The nurse Maria Gonzales had asked him once if he had a history with Jenny, and he'd answered very shortly they had an affair a long time ago. She had given him an understanding smile, as if she'd thought he was still in love with her. He denied it out loud, claimed that it was a long time ago, that he had moved on from her.

But he didn't stay the fifth night, he got home, spent the night in his basement working on his boat with a bottle of whiskey as his only company. Gibbs wasn't one who usually complained about nightmares, he had had his fair share of those after the deaths of Shannon and Kelly. But when he had tried sleeping in Jenny's room at the hospital, during the silent nights he could still hear the shrieking of tires, the loud thump when her body had smashed into the windshield. He could still feel the moment when he thought his blood would freeze to ice from fear of her life.

Even here in his lonely basement, her face haunted him; the face with the fair skin, framed by red hair. The face covered in bruises. The blackened eyes. The broken lip.

Though the next morning before he had gone in to work, he'd passed by to check up on her. She'd been the same still figure as she had the other days. Nothing had changed.

On the seventh day from the accident, he skipped coming by on the morning, he didn't come back at the hospital to see Jenny until in the evening. He passed by the nurse's station where Maria sat. He glanced at her as he kept walking, and at the same time asked,

"She awake?" he'd asked that every time he'd walked through the doors, always getting the same answer. So he wasn't expecting anything different today.

"Yes, señor Gibbs" she answered in her heavy Spanish accent. Gibbs froze in his tracks.

"But?" he demanded without turning around, he could easily sense there was something she wasn't telling him.

"But what?" her attempt at sounding innocent failed big time. She cleared her throat as Gibbs turn on his heels and walked back to her. He leaned across the counter; his piercing blue eyes stared into her dark brown ones.

"What is it?" he demanded with ice in his voice. Maria was unnerved by his energy, frustration was practically radiating from him. She swallowed and looked away from his eyes, shuffling around some papers on her counter.

"There are some…complications…"she began a bit tentatively; she bit her lip, before glancing up at Gibbs, who was still waiting to hear just what these "complications" might be. When she did not continue at once, he became impatient.

"What kind of complications?" he demanded to know, it bothered him like hell that she didn't just come right out and say it. Whatever the problems were, he was positive the hospital could fix it, they had to, or they would be answering to him. If anything would happen to Jenny…

Her eyes looked straight into his.

"Complications with her eyesight. The doctors are not sure if she will fully recover her ability to see,"

_To be continued…_


	4. Chapter 3

_A/N: I wanna thank you all for your reviews and your patience. I've been out of town lately and having had my mind set on other fanfictions, and the inspiration for this one sort of stopped flowing. But it returned, and here is the next chapter. I hope you'll keep reading and reveiwing, because it makes me happy ;) I hope you'll like this, and I hope to be able to update soon! Thanks xxx_

_**Chapter 3**_

Gibbs met his own gaze in the mirror. Nothing much to see, the blue eyes were devoid of emotion, only showing a concerned soul. He stuck his hands in under the tap and splashed water in his face. When he once again raised his head to stare at his reflection, beads of water trickled down his cheeks like tears, the tears he could not bring himself to shed.

Jenny. Blind. Possibly permanently.

Crap. His thoughts wandered to the woman in question. She would have to be told, be notified of her condition. And being the one who probably knew her best, he had no doubt she wouldn't take it well.

He sighed heavily. His mind already in the future. He knew her career was over, everything she'd fought for, with all the sacrifices it had required to take her to the top, had been for nothing. He, their relationship, was one of those sacrifices. A sacrifice she had been willing to make to climb one step higher on the ladder. He wondered briefly if she thought it was worth the life was living today. Or, he corrected himself, had lived. Because her life would have to change, drastically, from now on. And he wasn't sure if she could handle it. Jenny was strong, he'd learned that the moment he'd met her, but when faced with an opponent she could not defeat on her own, she chose to not see her weakness, still tried to fight on her own, never wanting to be depending on anyone else. That tactic would not be working now, but he had no reason to not believe she would not try it.

He grabbed a paper towel, dried the water beads off his face, balled the towel and tossed it into the garbage bin before letting the door to the bathroom swing shut behind him.

He caught Jenny's doctor out at the nurses station. Dr Ross Miller turned toward Gibbs, immediately recognizing him as one of Jenny's frequent visitors. He smiled a tired smile. Gibbs didn't return it.

"How is she?" he asked, voice lowered. The smile was wiped from the doctor's lips.

"Recovering. But taking a look at this," he paused to look down at his papers, "I doubt she'll ever get back her ability to see," he sounded tired, and Gibbs fought the urge to head slap him. It sounded like he was giving up.

"Isn't there anything you can do?" he asked, tone harsher than he'd intended. Not that he really cared.

Dr Miller let his eyes quickly skim over Gibbs features, he looked away when he found the blue eyes that were so cold they might freeze the blood.

"I'm afraid not. It's too damaged. And I strongly doubt it's something time will be able to heal,"

Gibbs had never liked doctors, and this one was no exception. But before he could come up with a good retort, the doctor had turned away and was updating Maria at the nurse's station.

Gibbs waited impatiently, his hand running through his hair more than once by the time Dr Miller turned back to him. Once again, he didn't give Gibbs the time to speak.

"I'm on my way to Ms Shepard to tell her the news," he exclaimed and made to walk away toward Jenny's room. Gibbs was on his heels. Dr Miller stopped and turned around. Gibbs merely shrugged.

"What?" Gibbs asked.

"I don't think it's a good idea you're coming," he replied after having survey Gibbs for a few second, once again avoiding the eyes.

"I don't give a damn what you think. I wanna be there. She needs me," and with that, Gibbs pushed past the good doctor and went ahead into Jenny's room. He stopped for a small moment to take in the sight of the broken woman in the hospital bed.

The skin was as white as earlier, the red hair still an intense contrast. The casts were still enveloping her arm and leg and around her head was the bandage. Only difference now was the piece shielding her eyes, though he could still see the bruises set around her eyes.

She reacted to the sound of the door opening.

"Who's there?" she asked warily out into the room. Gibbs was at her side in a second.

"It's me, Jen," he said as softly as he could, for some reason struggling to keep the crying out of his voice.

"Jethro? Oh thank God," he saw her hand, the one not set in a cast, feebly searching the sheet next to her. He reached out and cradled her hand in both of his.

"I'm here," he said.

"Jethro, why can't I see?" He swallowed when hearing the slight hint of panic in her voice. He heard the frustration and fear and knew this was not going to go well. But before he could answer her, Dr Miller slid up to her side and spoke.

"That's why we're here, Ms Shepard," he said and Gibbs felt her jerk slightly at the sound of the new voice being so close.

"Easy, Jen. It's just your doctor," he soothed her and caressed her hand.

"Will you tell me what the hell is going on with me, Dr?" she jumped right to the point and the corner of Gibbs' mouth rose in a slight smile. He had been expecting nothing less from her.

"Yes, Jenny, I will tell you. I assume Maria has updated you that you were in a car accident?"

"She has," she answered coolly, as it appeared to be too painful to nod her head. In her tone it was apparent she just wanted him to tell her the important, she didn't give a damn about the other stuff for the moment. At least it was apparent to Gibbs.

Dr Miller took his time to review her files. Gibbs felt Jenny's fingers start to wriggle impatiently in his hands. He shifted his grip and began to run his thumb in smooth circles on the back of her hand. He felt her relax and he got the sense she was only listening to the doctor with one ear, and he wasn't listening at all.

"That said," Dr Miller finally stated, and Gibbs snapped out of his reverie. "We should move on to the issue with your eyesight."

Gibbs kept his eyes fixed on Jenny, almost dreading to see her reaction. He knew she wouldn't be taking it well.

"Are you gonna tell me or not?" she sounded irritated.

"Yes, yes," Dr Miller obviously didn't like to hurry.

Gibbs clutched her hand tighter.

"I'm afraid the car accident has caused some serious damage to your eyesight, and it appears your blindness may be permanent,"

Silence stretched over the room. Her grip around his hand tightened until he was pretty sure the doctor would have to bend her fingers out of the rigor to get her to relinquish her hold.

The doctor kept talking but he wasn't listening and neither was Jenny.

"Jen?" he suddenly said, cutting off the doctors rambling and updating him that no one was listening to him.

"Jenny?" he said a little louder, which obviously roused her from wherever her mind had been.

"You ok?" he regretted the question the moment the words left his lips.

"No, Jethro, _I am not ok_! I'm blind damnit!" her voice was surprisingly shrill and he had no doubt she was close to tears. He closed his eyes in despair. Opened them again and this time when he looked at her he was struck with the realization he was not looking at the same woman anymore. It was like she'd changed to someone else during the few seconds his eyes had been close. He figured it was now that the realization she would be living in this darkness for the rest of her life had hit her. She looked suddenly older, more fragile, like a shadow of her former self. It was a broken Jenny Shepard that lay in the bed before him.

"Jen, calm down…" another mistake.

"Don't tell me to calm down, Jethro! It's not you who are lying here having just been told you won't be able to see anymore!" her voice was dripping of icicles.

"I'm sorry, Jen," he said as soft as he could, knowing she'd already put up her walls and would not allow anyone to comfort her. His fears were coming true, he knew that, had known all along this was going to happen. But that didn't mean he had to accept it.

"Jethro, don't," she warned sternly and he froze with his hand floating in the air halfway to her face. "Don't you touch me," she added in a whisper. He placed his hand gingerly back onto her, she didn't pull away and didn't even seen to be aware of that they were still holding hands. He was at least a little bit glad about that, it meant it was giving her some comfort after all, even if it was only a small comfort.

She stayed still and silent for so long, he began to suspect she'd fallen asleep. Then, "Jethro, please, leave me alone," no more than a whisper.

Gibbs looked at her for a long moment, then raised his gaze to Dr Miller standing on the opposite side of the bed. He gave him a short nod and said, "She needs to sleep,"

Gibbs once again fixed his gaze upon the broken woman, not able to get over the nothing but ruthless transformation she'd just gone through. Ignoring her previous warning, he reach out his hand again and gently caressed her cheek, so gently it wouldn't hurt her, but still enough to offer her some comfort. He squeezed her hand before relinquishing it.

He looked at her sadly, a woman as independent and strong as her did not deserve this fate. To be bound in darkness forevermore was never something he could picture Jenny accepting. Bu there was no way out of this one. Her strength alone was not sufficient in this matter.

He walked to the door, turned around with his hand on the handle, watching as Dr Miller prepared painkillers for her.

"I'll be coming back," he said, opening the door and just as he stepped over the threshold, he heard her heart-stopping reply.

"No, please don't,"

_To be continued…_


End file.
